DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY
“SIMPLE VEHICLE” RACING CAR DESIGN TASK

June Exam:
This will be on Mon 4 June in class time, room IA6.
You will analyse design/s regarding form and function - be able to identify aspects of each of these, e.g. line, shape, colour, tone, and texture and function should be obvious.

For example -
external image images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSsZDPbWNNkCn1VfrpLfBdH3nh-7XAqeT9vz1uz9A8mpp-4b7UE or
external image images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTU57A4B58K5CDtnGb0YPFoZjghDuHXtn-sNN5tYqKtj2NHWk4mHQ from a kitchen item range.
Don't forget to use ergonomics as a topic to consider in these.

The item/s in your test will be common things, but not necessarily kitchen items.

You will also do some or all of a design process using the headings Situation, Brief, Specifications, Research, Ideas, Refinement, Drawings, Evaluation. This will be a problem for you to design something to meet an identified need.

It will be done on computer with access to internet, but not notes or books. You will save to drop box. Bring a USB to make your own back up. Bring you laptop too as a reserve computer just in case.



Situation:
In days not long ago, racing cars were often multi-purpose. In fact, a driver’s day car was often driven to the track, the exhaust might be modified in the pits, number plates unscrewed, and then racing started. Purpose designed racing cars such as the Ford GT Falcon and Holden Monaro took this to an extreme in the 1970s.
Another approach was to build a racing car as a project and also have it road registered. The Caterham 7 was a copy of the Lotus 7 and allowed home engineers to build a known successful design. See images:

http://www.google.com.au/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1280&bih=598&q=caterham+7&gbv=2&oq=caterham+7&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&gs_sm=3&gs_upl=1076l3123l0l4653l10l8l0l0l0l0l601l1506l4-2.1l3l0&gs_l=img.3..0l10.1076l3123l0l4653l10l8l0l0l0l0l601l1506l4-2j1l3l0.frgbld
external image Caterham+7+Superlight+r400.jpg
external image img010.jpg

A range of race types have been conducted, including circuit racing, rallying, drag races and hill climbs. See videos:

Hill climb Lotus 7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rFHa8_w01U&feature=related
Caterham 7 drag race versus Mitsubishi Evo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBiB04ocrAE&feature=related

Design Brief:
Design and build a car to race in hill climb and drag race (or timed sprint) events. Aesthetic and build quality will also be assessed. Reference to an actual sports or racing car must be clear from research.

Specifications:
“Simple Vehicle” parts. Two pieces of acrylic (polymethylmethacrylate, pmma) A4 paper size, 3mm thick.

Folio:
Complete a design folio – format to be discussed, but will include video/slide show/animation to use the power of the laptop – to show the development of the design with the following section headings: management, research, ideas, refinement, working drawings D.O. 2D, product drawings 3D, evaluation.

Due dates:

Folio completed so far - formatted for printing on A4 paper progressed to the following sections - Brief and Specifications as above; copy/paste them to your document. Management - a table style format showing all lessons for the topic with a description of tasks undertaken or planned for each lesson. Now you have a good idea of how the task is progressing estimate the time required for tasks through to completion. Research and Ideas - set out suitably formatted pages to show research pictures of cars and set out initial drawings of your ideas. For both sections include notes for advatages/disadvantages or a PMI (plus minus interesting) chart to highlight features, problems or comments.
All of this is to be submitted by drop box as a single file - either docx or pdf. You may insert scanned, screen grab or jpg images to include the various features.
The sections of the project will be due as follows:
30 July- road test cars practical. You might like to bring new batteries if you have run down yours a little already.

2 Aug- full folio - all sections:
  • No need to hand in work already done last term again - for most students that was Gearbox video, Research and Ideas and most did the start of 2D drawings.
    • ( This is done - Complete if necessary! Half to one page explanation of the way the gearbox functions. Explain the the way driving and driven gear sizes relate to final output speed based on the fixed motor speed. Explain the importance of a compound gear. Include pictures copied from the brochure. This sections can be done as a video, say as a documentary/educational style or as an interview. You may work in pairs for this if done as a video; your own work if just typed.)
  • All will still have to do this part - Copy/paste or screen grab your VectorWorks orthogonal drawings into the folio. Add dimension lines to show O/A length, width and height, wheel base (axle centre distance) and outside (maximum) wheel track. A demo will follow in class if you are unsure.
  • Results table of two road tests - this will be done on 30 July in the road tests.
  • This is extension work if you are seeking extra challenge - demo has been given in class. Extrude vehicle parts and copy/paste to one file to show an exploded isometric view show on one A4 page.
  • Evaluation of your vehicle considering aesthetic and functional features. This will be given an introduction in class.

Sharing thoughts:
If you have ideas, questions or other discussion points please add to the Discussion page via the speech bubble button above.

Notes:
You will laser cut the body parts - most likely using VectorWorks in Windows. As an early hint - keep all your off-cut acrylic material in case you need to re-cut anything.

The manufacturer's notes for the vehicle parts are shown here - not all are applicable to our situation, but the pictures show construction stages and gear ratio details will be needed to gain best performance on the flat and on the hill.